LAKEWOOD, CO - JANUARY 24: Gabe Martinez fills a water bottle as he prepares to leave at his apartment in Golden, Colorado on January 24, 2014. Gabe Martinez, a former marine who lost both legs in Afghanistan, will be moving into a new accessible home in Parker on February 8 thanks in part to the organization Homes for Our Troops.

LAKEWOOD, CO - JANUARY 24: Gabe Martinez gets a high five from his trainer Brandie McCluskey while looking over his meal plan at FitPros Gym in Lakewood, Colorado on January 24, 2014. Gabe Martinez, a former marine who lost both legs in Afghanistan, will be moving into a new accessible home in Parker on February 8 thanks in part to the organization Homes for Our Troops.

After Gabe Martinez lost the lower parts of both of his legs in an improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving 2010, he had some dark moments, especially looking at family photos in which he was wearing shorts.

“I thought, ‘I’m never going to walk again, my life’s over,’ ” said Martinez, former sergeant with the First Marine Division, First Combat Engineer Battalion.

But he said those moments were few and far between.

“I quickly learned that attitude was everything from the moment I stepped on the IED, so I tried to carry that not only in my rehab but the rest of my life,” Martinez said.

Also soon after his injury, his family and wife, Kayla, worked on getting him an accessible home through Homes For Our Troops, which Martinez moves into in Parker on Feb. 8. Martinez uses prosthetics legs most of the time, but often in the evenings needs to use a wheelchair, or when his legs get sore from the prosthetics, and his apartment in Golden is not the most accessible.

“It’s just one less place I have to worry about any accessible issues,” he said.

Martinez has found himself more active in his time with a disability than before, and is training to compete in track and field at the 2016 Paralympics. He said the spirit of competition first got into him while in rehab therapy, and that he’s been rock climbing and whitewater rafting, among other activities.

“I wanted to live life to the fullest,” he said. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could be the same man or more.”

Last year, Martinez traveled to Boston the week of the Boston Marathon bombings to visit people who had lost their limbs.

“These are Americans experiencing something only military members experienced,” he said. “I saw what happened and (Kayla) saw how impactful it was for me to see other amputees living life.”

He went there to let them know that their lives were not over. He has visited there seven times.

“There were lots of tears and sadness, but by the time we left the room, there’s a lot of smiles and happiness,” he said.

He has also developed a friendship with Nick Orchowski, who suffered a spinal cord injury while serving with the Army in Iraq in 2004. He has a house down the street from where the Martinez family will live.

“He’s very inspirational, and him coming into my life has made me want to do better and wanting to try harder in terms of wanting to go to the gym and go faster,” Orchowski said. “He’s made me a better person through and through.”

The Homes For Our Troops houses in east Parker have been largely built by the fundraising efforts of the Rotary Clubs of Parker. Amy Holland, Parker city council member and a member of Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club of Parker, said instead of working on building of the home with Orchowski, the contractors largely took over and the Rotary clubs helped with the landscaping.

“(Gabe’s) such a great role model for continuing to give back,” Holland said. “He did lose a lot fighting for our country, but I sometimes wonder if this made him a stronger person and gave him this ability to give back to so many people.”

Kayla Martinez said some people are surprised with how strong Gabe Martinez has been through his ordeal, but she said she’s not.

“He’s always been this strong,” she said. “I know the man I married.”

The couple have a 15-month-old daughter, Madelynn.

Gabe Martinez said he and Kayla are thrilled beyond explanation about the new home.

The ceremony in which Gabe Martinez will be handed the key to his new home will take place at 9 a.m. Feb. 8 at 2418 Elkhorn Ranch St., Parker.

More in News

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a dramatic diplomatic turn, President Donald Trump on Thursday called off next month's summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, calling the cancellation a "tremendous setback" for peace and stressing that the US military was ready to respond to any "foolish or reckless acts" by the North.

Beautiful photos from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island. The U.S. Geological Survey said a recent lowering of the lava lake at the volcano's Halemaumau crater 'has raised the potential for explosive eruptions' at the volcano.